How long do most folks take from the time I drop off a barrel and action until they are shipping it back?

2 weeks; but I do those ASAP and go back to the longer term work afterward. If the smith uses a strict FIFO method, then you might have to wait months.

I think you need to check the horses mouth on that time frame...I've checked Shaw, Pac-nor and McGowan in the past two weeks for contoured only barrel blanks for 375 cal and lead time for those is 3-4 months...and MUCH longer for any kind of fit-up/gunsmith work. I can get just about any straight cylinder tube in about a week.

You need to check your gunsmith to see if they have the barrel in stock you require and how long THEY will take to do the work...NOT online for people that aren't doing the work or that can't speak for the 'smiths.

I get a lot of barre;s from SHilen. Delivery has been about a week lately and I turn the finished job out within a week or so later; not more that two weeks.

I wait on average eight weeks to get barrels, and my backlog runs from two to four months. So it depends on when those two factors cross as to how long it takes to complete the job.

I meant if I already had the barrel. Of course, lead times from barrel makers can be in terms of years in some cases.

I wouldn't give a smith my action and expect them to order a barrel. For some people that's fine, but it leads to gunsmith neglect. And a lot of forgot-to-order-that-itis.

www.bugholes.com has barrels in stock.

I built a 250 AI using an air gauged Douglas #2 contour 40 odd years ago for my father and he gave it back to me in his will in 2005...with 3 selected bullets/load combos it stays within 1/2" for 3 shots even today, and it loves 75 gr VM's...

No, we don't want to forget Douglas...I have at least 7 rifles all sporting Douglas air gauged barrels and I've used up many as replacements for some of my hot rock wildcat small cals.

I just checked Douglas for a finished turned and polished 375 cal #5 contour at somewhere around $260 and 8 week delivery (I think, not certain, as I've been checking every barrel maker around for the past several weeks and 8 to 16 weeks is par. I've ordered cylinder tube's for my last 4 rifles and turned the contour myself and usually get those within 1-2 weeks.)

When I had my FFL I could always get pieces and parts quicker than without the FFL AND the discount.

I think turn around time depends on many factors and if you can get an insured two week delivery date I would jump on it WITH a great big wet smooch.

SPR definitely has some excellent products, but I can build 4-5(or more) rifles that shoot almost as well for the price of ONE of those excellent beauties...the game will never know how fancy/po'boy my rifle is. I haven't been able to afford prices like that for a coons age...wish I could, I would like a few of those XLR stocks. Pac-Nor, McGowan and some other barrel makers do have ready-to-buy barrels on hand but I never was lucky enough to find one in the cal/contour/length for what I was building at the time I was building it. ER Shaw and McGowan at $175-250 per is about all I get away with nowadays...it's been over 25 years since my last Lilja and longer than that for an Obermeyer in my benchrest days.

Hey...if you got it, use it and good on you, Mate. Of course, when my ship comes in......Hahahahahahahahahahaha

I use Douglas barrels much of the time; since 1971; I used to date a girl that lived across the street from them and we would often visit them on dates. Probably why she gave up on me.

Wyoming; do you expect smiths to order based on your "maybe" placing a job order for it? No one can do business like that. If you are dealing with people who neglect to fulfill their promises, then you need to get new gun smith.

quote:

And a lot of forgot-to-order-that-itis.www.bugholes.com has barrels in stock.

Looking at their site do they have all those barrels in stock/ Or since they link to the manufacture is that what the shop has in stock they also appear to be unturned blanks.

Unturned blanks are normally quicker to get than contoured.

Besides all that I don't think I can afford them anyway.

It is hard, both financially and logistically, to stock every make, caliber and contour of barrel out there.....

Well that's it dpcd. You blew it. I was just getting ready to send you my MAS36 to rebarrel in 10.75×68mm but since you don't have a short chambered barrel in stock......

quote:

I was just getting ready to send you my MAS36 to rebarrel in 10.75×68mm but since you don't have a short chambered barrel in stock......

I think he has it but the contour is wrong.

Since I started I've installed Douglas at least 20 to 1 over other manufacturers. I haven't found any maker that offers a better combination of quality and price. Besides, they send me a great calendar I can hang in the shop.

Once a customer's action is here in the shop I order the barrel. I don't take deposits--they make me feel uncomfortable--and all customers inspect the work before they pay. It's the way I like to do business.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention: I don't install short-chambered barrels for anyone.

Damn, I just sold my last 10.75 barrel last week. True story though, about 20 years ago I installed a Rock 5R match barrel on a MAS 36 for a guy, in .308. For some reason he wanted a $300 barrel on a 30 dollar rifle.

Toomany Tools/John:

I was hoping that I might get you to elaborate just a bit on why you prefer not to install short-chambered barrels?

I am guessing - but is it related to the fact that if the short-chambering work is not done well you are left trying to fix somebody else's sub-optimal work?

Just asking out of curiosity as I don't recall hearing that comment before and I respect your learned opinion on this.

Thx,

Bob

I'm guessing the era of just-in-time-parts-for assy hasn't quite reached the gunsmithing trade.

In the old days Douglas barrels cost to a 'smith was priced such that the 'smith's labor cost for threading, chambering, crowning, was included in the barrel cost to the customer and the pricing was such those with FFL's or knew the "secret" could read the FFL's owners prices off any parts suppliers cost printouts. Brownell's had the FFL price discounts, in red usually, printed in the catalog.

That seems to be passé now with the cost of the labor equal to, and/or in addition to, the cost of the barrel, roughly speaking....or is seems that way.

Most all of the barrel makers prices for a polished, contoured, threaded, chambered and crowned barrel are competitive and most also let you pick and choose for a small machine setup charge whatever you want done.

Every barrel maker I've talked to in the past 10 years or so has a backlog therefore the reason for the long wait times and the reason I buy cylinders and do my own contouring.

It also seems that the contours are pretty much the same no matter who the barrel maker, again roughly speaking, and not including any "special" fancies like grooving, straight or twisting. I find little difference between them and many makers including the contours for rifle brands for the more popular like Savage and Remington, and prefits'.

I like a 26", 2.5 to 3" chamber length before the taper begins and 0.150"/side barrel wall thickness over bore size plus the additional weight for the larger cals...I don't always find/get what I want tho' from the makers and another reason for my DIY contouring.

Bob, you're right about the reasons I don't install short-chambered barrels. The two primary reasons are, first, I can't guarantee the threads are concentric with the bore, and second, it's not likely my reamers match the reamers they used to short-chamber it, and that almost always leaves a ring just aft of the should. It's only cosmetic, but it's not acceptable to me.

John do you have the same issue and/or concerns with a deep chambered prefit?

Always interesting to me that anyone would hire a professional, and then try to save a few dollars by buying a commercial pre-chambered barrel.

The pre-chamber barrel business was always intended for the amateur who either didn't have a lathe, or who didn't want to buy/rent a chamber reamer.

When I hire a professional to barrel a rifle for me, I would like it to be done to the best of his ability, and to do that I would expect he would want all the variables under his control. A pre-chambered barrel removes many of the variables, but not to the benefit of the final product.

dave

quote:

The pre-chamber barrel business was always intended for the amateur who either didn't have a lathe, or who didn't want to buy/rent a chamber reamer.

Dave,
How do you fit a deep chambered barrel without a lathe? Somehow you have to remove some metal from the end of the barrel. Or am I confused again?

I will admit to have purchased several short chambered barrels. They happen to have been cut with my reamer. Since I didn't have a set of gauges the smith refused to finish the chamber. So he left it short. It took me about 10 seconds to finish as I mounted the barrel to my MKX actions.

I had a OLD smith 30 years ago in W Texas. He would often buy deep chambered barrels for one of a kind chambering. Said it wasn't worth buying the reamer. I have no clue if there was a rental reamer market at the time.

I didn't write clearly, Paul. You obviously know how to fit a pre-chambered barrel.

If you have no lathe, you buy a short chambered barrel, and turn the reamer by hand to fit.

If you have a lathe, but no reamer, you can set back the shoulder and face off the barrel until the pre-cut chamber fits.

What I meant to say is no lathe but reamer = short, lathe but no reamer = long.

I've threaded and pre-chambered Rem 700 and Mauser barrels several times for buyers of barrels, in some cases I fit to their dimensions, in some cases if I knew them I sent them my reamer and gauges. If it's a magnum caliber, I chamber to just short of the go gauge, and since most factory brass has the belt .007 too short anyway, the barrel can be used as is. I chamber that way anyway on any magnum I do, to save brass life.

I agree that deep chambered are an economical way to cut costs if it's a caliber that you won't repeat often.

My thoughts are that there are several manufacturers out there that can't even seem to grind the outside concentric with the bore, I'm not sure I want to get a pre-chambered barrel from them.

dave

Paul, yes, I'd have the same problem with a deep chambered barrel. I want to do it all myself by my methods.

Dave,
99% of everything I have done has been on a Mauser of some type. In a lot of ways it spoils you since it can be so much easier than other actions. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. Always interested in learning.

We are on the same page. I do have to scratch my head as to why if you were sending the barrel to someone to mount you would want to buy it threaded and chambered. Just seems like a good way to pay for the same service twice. Yes there are always exceptions.

John it makes sense to me.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Damn, I just sold my last 10.75 barrel last week. True story though, about 20 years ago I installed a Rock 5R match barrel on a MAS 36 for a guy, in .308. For some reason he wanted a $300 barrel on a 30 dollar rifle.

Maybe the same reason people put scopes on that cost twice as much as the rifle does.

I look at scopes the way I look at stereo speakers: Doesn't matter how good your stereo receiver is, if you have cheap speakers it won't sound any better.

John et al.:

Thanks for the insight on the short chambered barrels.

It is of particular interest to me as I happen to have a short chambered Shilen. I got it second hand for what I think was a pretty good bargain, so didn't think there was anyway to go wrong...now you got me thinking...

According to the Brownells, Shilen used some type of "special small reamer" to to the chamber such that even a finishing reamer at the small end of the tolerance will clean up the chamber.

Do any of you fellows have specific experience with the Shilen short chambered barrels? If so, is this BS?

Wouldn't help address threads not being concentric to the bore or that sort of thing of course, but would make me feel a little better.

I agree with you John - as a customer, I would not find a ring on my brass aft of the shoulder acceptable.

Thanks for any insight.

to the OP (BWW) - apologies for the hi-jack of your thread.

Bob

quote:

Mauser 98 barrel fitting requires even extra attention to abuttments

That's because you want to be fancy and have the barrel contact at both points.

I wouldn't even attempt to guess the number of Mauser barrels that are bedded against the ring, the action front or both.

As I remember the first couple I built 40+ years ago had no contact with the front of the action at all. That is how he taught me.

quote:

That ground has been plowed numerous times

That is a fact. If you were closer I'd buy you a .

Have a good one

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Kobe:
I get a lot of barre;s from SHilen. Delivery has been about a week lately and I turn the finished job out within a week or so later; not more that two weeks.

Thanks Jim, care to send me a price list?

Ok , send all your short chambered barrel jobs to me; I will fit them for you.